Let Him that Stands Take Heed…

Image Source: Bible Underground

I’m currently enrolled in an Entrepreneurship and Employability Skills Development programme and yesterday was the first day. During the morning session, we were asked to submit our resumes (CVs) and I did just that. Before then, we had been advised to come along with it so I took my time to go through mine and revise it. I wanted it to be excellent, and it was –at least that’s what I thought. When we were asked to submit our CVs for vetting, mine wasn’t even looked at a second time. It was declared ‘not good enough’. When I heard this, I started boiling inside. I was really pained. I thought I had a good resume until that very moment. After the CVs and Cover Letter Writing class, I finally knew why my CV wasn’t good enough.

The Inevitability of Fear

Source: Isabelle Allende http://lovequotes.symphonyoflove.net/

All intelligent people are afraid of something. Remember, we have defined intelligence as “acting in a way that is consistent with set goals”. Thus, an intelligent person is one who constantly acts in ways that is consistent with achieving his or her set goals. There is no human being that is devoid of fear. As humans, it is only natural and normal for us to be concerned about things pertaining to our survival or subsequent breakthrough; that’s how we’re wired. A courageous person isn’t usually the one who isn’t afraid. In fact, Mark Twain, the US writer and humorist expressed that “Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear- not absence of fear.

Assumptions! Assumptions! Ridiculous Assumptions!

Image Source: www.kathyennis.co.uk

Making assumptions about people, an event or a situation often proves to leave you with embarrassing results. In fact, the results can be tragic or comical at times. Take for example this story I came across in the John Maxwell book- Everyone Communicates, Few Connect. It’s a comical story of a traveler between flights at an airport.

She went to a lounge and bought a small pack of cookies and then sat down to read a newspaper. She became aware of a rustling noise and looked to see a neatly dressed man helping himself to the cookies. She didn’t want to make a scene, so she leaned over and took a cookie herself, hoping that he would get the message. As time passed, she thought she had been successful. But then she heard more rustling. She couldn’t believe it. He was helping himself to another cookie.

LIFE LESSONS III: THE BEST LOSER by Austin Queensly (@AustinQueensly)

“You took fourth! Fourth!! What happened to the first, second or even ‘manageable’ third position!!!”

I recoiled to the sitting room to avoid my mum’s screaming but especially dreaded my father’s arrival because though I was and still am ‘daddy’s pet’, one thing is not acceptable in my home. FAILURE. And believe me; my fourth position was considered one. This memory, even after 14 years, remains ingrained in my head and with it, a fear that is now a part of my subconscious and sometimes beclouds my decision making. The fear of failure!

From my growing up years, I had this concept driven into me that failure is bad. First position in class ensured that I got a mini celebration and fourth, a strong reprimand. Don’t get me wrong because I am not condemning this method of upbringing, in fact it has made me the person I am today, always striving for excellence. However, there are always two sides of a coin.

The Penalty of Leadership

I saw this in a textbook I read recently, Introduction to Mass Communication by Stanley J. Baran and I thought it’d be nice to share with you. It’s a 1915 Cadillac Motor Car Company Image Advert.

In every field of human endeavor, he that is first must perpetually live in the white light of publicity. Whether the leadership be vested in a man or in a manufactured product, emulation and envy are ever at work. In art, literature, in music, in industry, the reward and the punishment are always the same. The reward is widespread recognition; the punishment, fierce denial and detraction. When a man’s work becomes a standard for the whole world, it also becomes a target for the shafts of the envious few. If his work be merely mediocre, he will be severely left alone- if he achieves a masterpiece, it will set a million tongues wagging.

They're Leaving God Out of Everything! (The God Omission by Tobi Ogunfusika -@cutendpetite)

When I got home last year after school for the Christmas break, I was watching TV one random day. We were flipping through channels trying to look for something entertaining to watch. We stumbled on African Magic and then for a few minutes we were watching the movie. I noticed that some words were censored and I remembered that they started censoring swear words and curse words a while back and I shrugged my head and continued watching the movie. Something very interesting happened there and then, I noticed that the actress whose present words were being censored wasn’t cursing or saying anything wrong, she was not even angry or pissed with anybody in the movie. She was shocked and she said “Jesus” and after a while she said “oh My God”. It was so hard to read her lips considering the fact that it was a Nollywood movie and those words are the usual things we expect when a situation like that comes up in the course of watching a Nigerian movie.

How to Overcome Pornography: Employ the Aid of Accountability Partners

I’ve always heard that a problem shared is half solved. Well, the statement may not be entirely true but I know that in this context it does apply. What I’m saying in essence is that you should have a group of people you can talk to and you can report your progress to. These people are referred to as accountability partners. You are accountable to them.

Your accountability partners should be friends you can trust, parents who can understand you, your pastor to give you sound spiritual guidance and maybe even fellow addicts who have been able to overcome their own problem too. You may not necessarily hold meetings with these people but you should talk to them regularly. The truth is, the journey out of porn addiction is not easy and there will be time when you will feel dirty again God will seem far away and you will feel unworthy to talk to Him so these are people you can always turn back to. They will advise you and help you through the rough patch.

Your accountability partners will also help you monitor your progress and see how far you’ve come. Remember to be very honest with them, and despite the temptation to try to look good before them, remember that that will not help you either. So you must come clean before them. That is the only way they can help you.

ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING

In school I have been put in charge of publishing a magazine and I was brainstorming this morning, with my partner, on people to add to our team. A lot of names popped up in my head and I suggested them to my partner but she kindly rejected them and I know why: ATTITUDE. Till forever, this truth remains, a bad attitude will always overshadow good talent. No matter how good you are at doing something, if your attitude is poor and your character deficient, you will hardly made headway in life.

I have come across so many talented people, who I will never take seriously simply because their attitude is distasteful. At the same time I have come across certain people who may not be so bright mentally but their attitude lights them up. They are delightful.

So today, as you go about your activities, remember: ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING, SO PICK A GOOD ONE.

THERE’S NO HAPPINESS IN THE WORLD’S APPLAUSE

I got this idea from Britt Nicole’s song ‘You’ and I think it’s time I penned it down because it has been hovering on my mind for quite some time. The song talks about seeking true love and finding happiness. The truth is that there’s never happiness when you live for the commendations of others and their applause. There is no happiness there. The only true happiness you will ever find is the happiness that comes with knowing that God loves you and would go to any length for you. This true happiness also comes from the satisfaction you get from fulfilling the purpose for which you were created. God created you not to be just another person but because there's a problem out there that He knows you can solve.

My Take on Marriage

I'm not married. Too young for that but I have seen too many failed marriages and seen too many Hollywood movies condemning marriage to want to be. But we are currently doing a program on Marriage and Family in my final undergrad year so we learn something today that made me understand that marriages fail, not because it is a failed institution, but because the people involved have chosen to let it be. I mean, aren't there countless successful marriages out there? There are. My parents' marriage is a good example of a successful one.

First, people from failed marriages do not understand a lot about marriage.

How to Deal With Difficult People

You will agree with me that people are different. This difference in personalities makes some people compatible while some others aren't. You will also agree with me that no matter where we find ourselves -at work, in school, at home and in public places- we will always come across people who are difficult to relate with. Some of these people are proud while some others just lack good communication skills. You will also agree with me that it is important for you to know how to get along with people so that life can be much easier for you. The more able you are to adapt to people's personalities, the better your chances are at living a freer life. Here's how you can deal with such difficult people:

Let's Talk About The Conscience...Your Conscience

I heard the story of a married couple who lived somewhere in town (obviously). They trusted each other so much. They had 2 cars and both of them possessed keys to the 2 cars. So one day the wife was driving by a hotel- a very notorious hotel.- and she saw her husband's car. That hotel was so notorious that anyone who lodged in did so to commit wrong. That's how bad it was. So the wife drove home, took a cab, came back to the hotel. Then she drove her husbands car and went on to hide it somewhere. When the husband returned late in the night her lied that he was involved in a robbery attack and his car was snatched. Unknown to him was that his wife knew the whole truth. He was cheating on her. His wife just pulled him by the nose and showed him where she had hid the car. He felt so ashamed and embarrassed. That's the world as we have it today. People lack good moral compass and their consciences are weak or even dead.

How to Overcome Pornography: Identify Your Triggers

We have looked at the first step to recovery and overcoming porn addiction. We understand that we must acknowledge the problem can ruin us before we can actually overcome the addiction. The next step to overcoming porn addiction is to identify those things that trigger your craving to watch it. Different people have different triggers. For some people, it’s an emotion that triggers it and for some others it is something they see that triggers them. Whoever you are, and you’re addicted to porn, there is a particular thing that will trigger the longing within you. It is your responsibility to identify what that trigger is. I call it your responsibility because, quite frankly, no one will do it for you. It’s for you to take responsibility for yourself and step up your game if you truly want to rid yourself of this addiction.

INSPIRATION & ADVICE

WORK! WORK!! WORK!!!

There's no other way to become successful in life except through hardwork. No matter how good or talented you think someone is, they will never amount to anything good if they do not put in a certain level of hardwork. The same goes for every one of us, including you reading this article.

I don’t know anyone that is consciously satisfied with being a failure but I also know that no one will ever become great if they do not work hard. I read an article on Ofilispeaks that talks about how to make work disappear and the only way I know how to make work disappear is to face the work and finish it. Don’t ever think your talent is good enough to get you that gig you want. Your talent is never enough to get you into the upper class and keep you there but hardwork can.

So whatever you are doing and whoever you are, get to work immediately. If you don’t like what you’re doing change your environment or quit but if you can’t quit then I suggest you better start forcing yourself to enjoy what you do if not you will remain a mediocre forever. Do you want to learn how to enjoy what you do? Then check back on this blog by tomorrow. I’ll have something especially for you. Have a wonderful day ahead and don’t forget to work. It’s the only way I know you can become truly successful.

LET'S TALK ABOUT INTEGRITY

This topic of integrity is one topic that we definitely do not hear much about anymore or so it seems. This morning in our university chapel, our Pro-Chancellor talked about it. Listening to him made me realize how much of this virtue we are lacking nowadays. Few people can actually stand as persons of integrity when we look at it in the real sense of what that word means. And please don't tell me that it is hard to judge a book by it's cover, it ain't. In this present times it has become a norm for people to tell lies and cover up the evil happening around them. It's so sad. Furthermore, integrity should not be limited by situation. This means that holding on to your integrity should not be as occasion serves you. Rather, it should be constant. Integrity should be embedded in your personality and not your actions.
In case you have doubts on what integrity is, let me give you some definitions of integrity:

How to Overcome Pornography: Step 1- Acknowledge the Problem Can Ruin You

So, we finally begin examining the 7-step solution to overcoming porn addiction. The first and most important step is to acknowledge that you have a problem that can ruin you. Until you get to this point of 'brokenness' and helplessness you will never realize that all your efforts to come out or stop are but futile. Also, you must come to the conclusion that it is totally wrong and against God's law to do it. The reason I am pointing this out is because I know people who do not think that watching porn is wrong. They have no problem with it. Well, I do not stand to castigate their belief but from my own understanding of life and Faith, it is a sexual sin against the body and thus, it is wrong. Furthermore, if you do not acknowledge it as a problem, there is no way what I am writing will be useful to you.

Therefore, the first step to 'recovery' here is to admit that you have a problem and that you need a solution. If not, you will stay the same.

The Thing About Christianity

The past year has been full of so many trials, temptations challenges and ultimately, victories. As a Christian, I have had to endure countless blog posts and website articles slandering my Faith and confusing my fellow brothers in the Faith. Recently, I came across a post on Facebook by one of the people I look up to; someone I respect and I was disappointed. I wasn't disappointed in the fact that he isn't a believer. I was disappointed in the fact that he wrote that Christianity is confusing. Some of you may agree with him but this only goes to prove how little you know.

Furthermore, people have been bringing up the issue of whether or not Jesus was born in December. This is a minor matter. It's not even important. What does it matter when Jesus was born? What matters is that we are celebrating the most influential being our planet will ever see.

The truth is, I guess I'm just sad at the fact that more ignorant people are saying wrong stuff. The most painful part is that these people are highly influential. For example, look at the caliber of people that support homosexuality despite the fact that the Bible calls it a sin. These people go as far as undermining the Bible.

What I am saying in essence is that we Christians need to step up to the challenge. We've sat back too long. The wrong people are out there saying all the wrong things. Christianity wasn't made for us to be mediocre. Jesus died to give us the world as a heritage. It is not for us to sit around and wait till it's time for heaven. We've got to make the most of our time here on earth. That is what Christianity is really about. Have a lovely Christmas. Keep these words close to heart.

How to Overcome Pornography Series: How Pornography Ruins Your Sex Life

Read this, I got it from Mark Manson's website:

According to science, porn trains our brains to release more endorphins (a chemical in the brain that relieves us of pain in some ways) than is natural in response to an overload of sexual stimuli. After a while, our brains become less and less sensitive and develop a need for higher and higher stimuli in order to reach the same arousal and excitement. Thus begins the spiral into more hardcore porn and higher quantities of it. In some cases, people can develop a psychological addiction to pornography and it can begin to interfere with their sex and social lives. In rare cases it can be weakening in both.

Missing person: 29 year old Jaiyeola Abayomi (URGENT!!!)

Friends of Abayomi Jaiyeola have reached out to the media asking that we help spread the news of their missing friend. Jaiyeola was last seen leaving her home in Oniru, Victoria Island on Friday Nov. 29th, wearing a pair of blue jeans, green polo top with her hair braided. Friends of Jaiyeola, who is 5'5, said she left her handbag and mobile phone at home as left that Friday without a word to her sister or mother.

If anyone has any info about Jaiyeola, please call 08023182792 or report to the nearest police station

Culled from Linda Ikeji's Blog